A Gathering of Tooks
by Lorna2304
Summary: Pippin gets an invite to a big party of Tooks, and who better to bring as a guest than Merry? MP slash, if you don't like slash don't read! Please R
1. Chapter 1

A Gathering of Tooks

Sorry for the rubbish name by the way, but the title is the hardest part for me! Anyways, here is chapter 1, enjoy!

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Chapter 1

Slowly, lazily, Pippin opened his eyes. It was a bright summer morning, and the sun was shining straight through his bedroom window onto his bed. Groaning, Pippin tried to talk himself into getting up. It was so warm and comfortable in here, why should he move? But with the sun shining so brightly, Pippin knew he would never get back to sleep now. Stretching and yawning, he extracted himself with difficulty from his tangled bed covers and wandered over to the window. The sky was a perfect, shimmering blue and there was not a single cloud in sight. A slight breeze was blowing the trees around, making the leaves dance around each other lazily.

'Something tells me today is going to be a good day', thought Pippin to himself as he gazed out at the garden.

"Pippin, are you awake yet? You're going to miss breakfast if you're not careful!" Pippin heard his father calling to him from the kitchen, and yelled back; "Just getting dressed, dad! I'll be out in a minute." Pulling on his clothes, Pippin opened his door and walked into the kitchen, the smell of fried bacon and sausages wafting towards him and making his stomach rumble loudly. Sitting down next to his mother at the table, Pippin got stuck straight into his large plate of breakfast.

"An invitation arrived in the post today, Pippin. It's from Ferdinand Took over in Crickhollow. He says he's having a grand family party, with Tooks coming from all over the Shire. Your mother and I won't be able to make it, I'm afraid, but I'm sure it'll be fun for you to go. It says here you can bring one person with you." Pippin's father showed the small piece of card to him, pointing to one line in particular. 'Each Took may bring one guest with them to the party'.

This set Pippin in a bit of a panic. Of course the invite meant that he should bring a girl with him to the party, but who could he possibly bring? He didn't know any Shire lasses well enough to ask them to a party, and he wasn't even particularly interested in any of the girls in the Shire, now he came to think about it. But suddenly, the perfect idea came to him. Merry! He should ask Merry to come with him to the party, his best friend in the whole Shire. It would be fun, having Merry with him, and it would make the boring two day journey to Crickhollow a lot more enjoyable, having his best friend with him to laugh and joke with.

Wondering why he hadn't thought of Merry before, Pippin finished off his breakfast and began to plan what he was going to do today. Obviously, he would first head to Buckland to ask Merry to the party. Hopefully he would be free today, so they could spend the rest of the day together. There was nothing Pippin loved more than spending all his time with Merry.

As Pippin arrived at Brandy Hall, he had a sudden feeling of warmth and happiness as he thought of spending the next few days with just Merry. Knocking on the door, Pippin could hardly wait to see his best friend again. The door opened, and Pippin saw Merry standing there, looking out at him.

"Pippin! What are you doing here?" he asked, as the look of recognition in his face turned quickly into one of genuine excitement at seeing Pippin again. "Planning a new adventure are you? Come inside!" Pippin walked inside and joined Merry in the kitchen. "I was just pouring some tea, do you want some?"

"Yes please, Merry, that would be great". Pippin sat down at the kitchen table, and decided to get straight to the point. "Merry, I got an invitation to a big Took party over in Crickhollow today, and it says I can bring one person with me. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come." As Pippin awaited Merry's reply, he suddenly felt rather nervous, as if he was scared of being rejected by Merry. But that was ridiculous! It wasn't as if he was asking Merry out on a date, was it? He was spared any more doubt as Merry replied. "Of course I'll go with you, Pip! It sounds like fun to me. We'll have to stop at an inn on the way there, won't we? I'm sure I remember it being a two day journey".

"Yes, it is. My parents said they'd give me some money for the inn on the way there and back, so don't worry about bringing any". Pouring tea for himself and Pippin, Merry heard Pippin's reply without really listening. He was too busy thinking furiously to himself. Of course he wanted to go to the party with Pippin, but he couldn't help wondering why Pippin had asked him. Sure, they were best friends, but surely there were plenty of pretty Shire lasses he could have asked to go with him. Surely he hadn't asked Merry because he liked him more than any of the Shire lasses...no, stop thinking like that, Merry sternly told himself. Pippin probably was too shy to ask any of the lasses, and that was why he asked Merry. There was no possibility that he could feel the same way about Merry as he did about Pip; that was just not possible.

"...Merry?" asked Pippin, curiously. Merry realised he must have missed a question. "Oh, sorry, Pippin, I was miles away. What was that you said?" Smiling warmly at Pippin, he tried to push all the ridiculous thoughts to the back of his head.

"I was just wondering if you were free today. I thought maybe we could go for a walk up by the river, if we bring a picnic we could stay all day. What do you think?" Pippin's innocent eagerness and excitement was impossible to resist, and Merry found himself agreeing happily, all previous thoughts and doubts forgotten as he prepared for a day out with his favourite hobbit in the Shire.

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I hope you like chapter 1! More coming soon, I can't resist these two together. Please review by the way! I don't have any reviews on here yet, but I won't let that stop me writing!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Yay, here's chapter 2 already! I stayed up last night to write it because I just couldn't leave the story hanging! Still another chapter to come after this one, but bear with me! I can't stop myself writing about these two, so I'm sure it will be up soon . Anyways, on with the story! Enjoy!

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Pippin wandered around his room, throwing random items into the pack he was bringing to Crickhollow. As he prepared for the journey he would be taking tomorrow morning, Pippin's thoughts centred on the upcoming party. He wondered what it would be like there; he hadn't been to a proper party in years. Hopefully it would be good fun; Pippin was feeling dubious about having to dance with girls he hadn't even met before. In fact, Pippin didn't really feel comfortable dancing with girls he did know. Slightly worried about what this might mean, Pippin quickly tried to think about something else.

Of course, the first thought that came to his mind was of Merry. Being his best friend, Pippin naturally thought about Merry frequently, but recently Pippin had been thinking about Merry almost non-stop. It had nearly become an obsession; wondering what Merry was doing right now, wondering when he could next see Merry, and just picturing Merry in his mind. Even Pippin had to admit he was a slow thinker at the best of times, and this was apparent now as he still had not worked out what these feelings really meant. Happily and obliviously, Pippin carried on with his packing, thoughts of Merry at the front of his mind.

***

Merry sat on the edge of his bed and sighed. He had finished packing for the journey ages ago, and now he nothing to do but sit and think. He was looking forward to the party, he thought it would be good fun, and of course he would be spending all his time with Pippin. However, he couldn't help worrying. What if Pippin somehow guessed how Merry felt about him? He was completely sure that Pippin did not feel the same way about him. If Pip was to find out, he was sure to be angry, disgusted even, and he would most likely never want to see Merry again. He couldn't let that happen; he loved Pippin too much to be parted from him. He would just have to make sure he gave nothing away on their journey to Crickhollow. It's going to be fine, Merry told himself. What could be simpler?

***

It was bright and early on the day of the journey, and Pippin was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Merry, so they could finally embark on the journey he had been waiting for. As Pippin paced impatiently next to the front door, his father approached him, holding something out.

"Here's some money for the inn on the journey there and back. It should be plenty, I counted it out myself." Pippin's father passed the money to him, and gave him a quick hug goodbye. "I'll see you in a few days, then, Pip. Have fun at the party!" With one final smile, he walked back the way he had come, most likely to his study, Pippin thought. Without bothering to check it, he shoved the money in his pocket and continued his pacing. Shortly after, Pippin heard a knock on the door, and grinning wildly he threw the door back to greet his friend.

"Merry! I'm glad you're here, I was getting bored". Dropping everything he had been holding, he ran forwards and pulled Merry into a warm hug. He felt slightly taken aback at first, as Merry stayed stiff, as if he was not going to return the hug. However, after a few seconds, Merry relaxed and pulled Pippin even closer to him, resting his head on Pippin's shoulder.

"I've missed you, Pip..." he whispered, so softly that Pippin could almost have imagined it. As if suddenly realising what he was doing, Merry quickly broke the hug, and gave Pippin a bright smile. "Well, if you're ready Pip, we should be leaving soon, if we want to get to the inn before dinner time". Pippin needed no further invitation; he grabbed his bags and walked out the front door to join Merry in the bright, summer sunshine.

"Well, this is it then", Pippin smiled at Merry, idly admiring how the bright sun turned his eyes into a perfect, soft honey colour. Wondering how that thought had got into his head, Pippin realised Merry had already started walking, and he quickly fell into step with him. The journey had begun.

***

"We've been walking for a while now, Merry, I'm getting hungry! Why don't we stop under those trees over there and have lunch?" It was nearing noon, and the two hobbits had been walking for a few hours; their breakfast seemed a long time ago now. Pippin threw himself down onto the ground, and started pulling food out of the picnic basket they had bought with them. Feeling absolutely starving, he tucked right in, passing some food to Merry quickly first.

As he ate, Pippin's mind wandered to his recent favourite subject; Merry. Pippin was quickly realising that his obsession with Merry could only mean one thing. He was becoming attracted to him, maybe even falling in love with him. Confused as to when this had started to happen, Pippin glanced up at Merry, and his heart immediately sped up. Merry was lying back on the grass, his eyes closed, with a small smile on his face. Pippin was struck dumb by how absolutely beautiful he looked. The summer sun was filtering through the trees above them, turning Merry's light brown curls into pure gold. Pippin had to resist from reaching out and stroking Merry's soft, lightly tanned cheek, in fear of alerting him to Pippin's true feelings.

He knew, of course, that he could never let Merry know how he felt; it was obvious that he didn't feel the same way. All Pippin would succeed in doing was scaring Merry off, and he couldn't lose Merry, he just couldn't. Determined not to give anything away, Pippin slowly leaned back to join Merry on the soft grass. The sound of the gentle wind softly blowing the leaves of the trees calmed Pippin, and he fell into a quiet doze.

A while later, Merry opened his eyes, and saw that Pippin had fallen asleep. Gazing at his still form, Merry remarked, not for the first time, on how stunning Pippin was. His dark chocolate curls framed a perfect, pale face, with soft pink lips that he yearned to lean down and kiss. But he knew he couldn't, and, sighing softly, he reached out and gently shook Pippin awake. "I'm sorry to wake you, Pip, but we should get going soon if we want to get to the inn before dinner time". Pippin nodded lazily, got his things together, and prepared to begin the rest of the journey.

***

The rest of the journey passed without too much incident, apart from a slight detour when Pippin noticed some mushrooms. Finally, as they were both beginning to realise how hungry they were, they caught sight of the inn, not far away. They pulled open the door, and a cheerful sight greeted them. A small but cosy room was full of hobbits, all drinking large amounts of ale, and a good-natured barman stood behind the bar.

"How can I help you, young master hobbits?" he asked pleasantly.

"We would like a couple of rooms for the night, how much would that be?" asked Pippin, pulling the money out of his pocket. However, when he heard the barman's reply, he looked doubtfully at the money in his hand.

"I don't think we'll have enough for an inn on the way home if we spend that much, Merry! We're going to have to share a room!" Pippin whispered to Merry. Cursing his father's rubbish counting skills and handing over the money for one room instead, Pippin thanked the barman and walked with Merry to their room. It looked a decent size, and nice and cosy, but the main thing Pippin was interested in was the small, narrow bed at the side of the room. The bed that he would be sharing with Merry. Pippin gulped. He had shared a bed with Merry plenty of times before, and it was no big deal, but that was before. His feelings had changed considerably since then... Being so close to Merry, all night, without being able to let Merry know how he felt, was going to be pure torture. As Pippin and Merry got undressed, each avoiding the other's eyes, they were both having the same thought...it was going to be a long night.

***

Merry awoke the next morning, with a warm, content feeling that he couldn't quite explain. Slowly, the memories of yesterday came back to him, and, opening his eyes, he saw the still sleeping Pippin lying next to him in the bed. The two of them were in a snug embrace, with Pippin's head pressed firmly against Merry's chest. Merry felt a sudden rush of love for Pippin, and he wondered if Pippin had sub-consciously got close to Merry while he was asleep, or if he had actually wanted to.

As Merry gazed at the beauty of Pippin, his resolve finally broke, and he leaned down slowly towards him, moving his lips nearer and nearer to Pippin's. His eyes flickered shut, and as their lips were only millimetres apart, there came a loud knocking on the bedroom door. Merry immediately jumped across to the other side of the bed, heart racing. As he came to his senses, he climbed out of bed and padded across the floor to open the door.

"Good morning, master Meriadoc, I'm sorry if I woke you, but breakfast is just being served downstairs, and I thought maybe you would want some before you left this morning." The barman was standing outside the door. Merry thanked him, and closed the door again so he could dress. Glancing over at the bed, he saw that Pippin had woken up finally.

"Morning, Pip. Breakfast is just being served, we should go down in a minute or we're going to miss it". Merry gave Pippin a falsely bright smile, and tried to pretend that everything was normal. He couldn't believe that he had come so close to kissing Pippin; he flinched as he thought of what would have happened if the barman hadn't chosen that exact moment to come in. Pippin would have hated him forever. As he walked down to breakfast with Pippin close behind him, he resolved to keep himself well away from Pippin for the rest of the journey, so he didn't risk temptation. As long as I try to act completely normal, he thought to himself, I can get through this. Pippin will never need to find out.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Don't worry, only one chapter left, I won't torture our beloved hobbits for much longer! .


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the last part of the story! I'm sorry it took so long to write, but I started college and had to sort out all my h/w and stuff, but here it is now! Enjoy =]

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Chapter 3

Merry and Pippin walked together in relative silence; each was immersed in his own thoughts. They had left the inn quite early, so they could get to Crickhollow in time to wash and smarten up before the party.

Pippin was starting to wonder if something was wrong with Merry. He had been practically silent since they left the inn, answering Pippin's attempts at conversation with only short one word answers. Pippin was getting worried that Merry had somehow realised how Pippin had felt about him; that would explain why he was being so distant. But if this was the case, surely he would have said something? Feeling frustrated and confused, Pippin decided to keep silent about it; if Merry really had figured it out, he would be furious, and Pippin bringing it up could be exactly what made him snap. Pippin couldn't bear it if Merry left him now.

Meanwhile, Merry was feeling extremely nervous. He was trying to avoid saying anything to Pippin, in case he said something that gave away what he was really feeling. However, this was having a bad effect, as he could tell Pippin thought something was up. Merry sighed softly to himself, earning himself another worried look from Pippin, as he wondered why his life couldn't just be simple. His train of thought was broken, however, with a cry from Pippin.

"I can see it! That's Ferdinand Took's house, over there!" He was pointing excitedly at a point not far in front of them. Merry looked up, and saw a large house a few hundred metres away.

"Well, we'd best hurry up then, or we won't have time to change before the party!" Smiling warmly at Pippin, Merry sped up slightly; eager to finally arrive at their destination.

***

It was 7.00pm, and Merry and Pippin were heading down towards the hall that the party was being held in. Merry had lightened up a lot; he had managed to convince himself that Pippin knew nothing, and if he acted normally Pippin wouldn't have any reason to doubt.

They entered the hall together, and were hit by a blast of noise. The combined sound of loud music, and a large amount of Tooks all talking to each other was quite deafening at first. Merry and Pippin smiled at each other, and walked into the room. Pippin was immediately overwhelmed by lots of different people all coming up to him and greeting him; most of them he had never met before. Feeling glad that he had Merry with him, Pippin edged over towards the side of the room, where it was slightly quieter.

"I can't believe how many people there are here!" Pippin exclaimed, surprised by the sheer fullness of the room.

"Well, if you take every Took in the Shire and add a plus-one to them, I guess this is what you get, Pip!" Merry smiled at Pippin cheerfully. The small amount of ale he had drunk was already making him feel better.

Merry and Pippin stayed over at the side of the room for a while; they were enjoying the atmosphere of the party, but didn't really feel like joining in with the festivities. Merry, however, soon began to sink back into a bad mood, as he noticed a pretty lass that had been paying particular attention to Pippin for quite a while now. She finally came over to the two of them, and spoke to Pippin.

"Hello there, you look like you must be another Took. I'm Diamond. So how come you aren't dancing with everyone else then?" Smiling flirtatiously at Pippin, she moved a little closer to him.

"I think I'll go and get another drink", Merry said moodily, and stomped off away from the two of them after giving Diamond a dark look.

"I'm really sorry, Diamond. I'd love to dance with you, but I can't. That's Merry over there and, well..." Pippin braced himself. "I'm in love with him." Now that he'd said it, Pippin couldn't get his words out fast enough. "I love him but he doesn't love me and I can't let him know because he's my best friend and he won't like me anymore and I don't want to lose him and now he's in a mood with me and I don't know why!" Close to tears, Pippin avoided looking in Diamond's eyes. He probably shouldn't have said all of that, but it was too late now. He nervously awaited Diamond's reply.

"Oh, Pippin, I'm sorry, but it's probably my fault he's in a mood. It's clear to me that he loves you very much, and when I came over to talk to you he couldn't bear to see you with someone else, so he walked off. I can go and speak to him if you want. If I explain to him that you feel the same way, I'm sure he'll be fine".

Pippin was in a state of shock. Could it really be true that Merry felt the same way?

"Are you sure, Diamond? Do you really think he loves me?" He could barely conceal his excitement.

"I don't think so, I know so! Now I'm going to go and speak to him, you wait here." With one final smile, Diamond headed off toward Merry, leaving a nervous Pippin behind.

Merry looked over at Pippin and Diamond for what felt like the millionth time, and saw with surprise that Diamond was walking towards him, Pippin staying behind where he was.

"What do you want?" he asked her rudely, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Listen, Merry, I have something to tell you. Pippin told me all about his feelings for you. He says he's in love with you, but you don't love him back. Now, I can see clearly that you do love him, isn't that true?" Diamond spoke firmly but kindly to Merry.

"I...wha?" Merry said intelligently, as he still tried to process what he had thought was impossible. Pippin really loved him? Could that be true?

Laughing slightly, Diamond repeated herself. "Pippin loves you! You love Pippin! You two make the perfect couple, trust me. Now, I think you should go over there and tell him exactly how you feel."

Merry nodded dumbly, and tried to remember how to walk as he moved his body out of the shock it had been in. Stumbling slightly, he made his way over to Pippin, the rest of the room dimming as Pippin was all he saw. As he reached Pippin, he saw the nervousness in his face, and his whole world seemed to fall into place. Nothing else mattered apart from him and Pippin right now, they were all that existed. Taking Pippin's hands into his own, Merry gazed once more into Pippin's beautiful eyes.

"Care to dance with me?" Merry whispered into Pippin's ear, and he pulled him onto the dance floor. Wrapping his arms around Pippin's neck, he felt Pippin put his own arms around Merry's waist, and they began to slowly move in time to the music. Merry felt as if this was the single most amazing moment of his life, feeling Pippin's warm body pressed close to his, and knowing that his love really was returned. Staring deeply once again at Pippin, he could finally see in his eyes what he had always wanted to see; pure and honest love.

Suddenly, Pippin's eyes flickered closed, and he moved his face closer and closer to Merry's. It seemed to the both of them that everyone in the room had just disappeared, the music had stopped, and they were they only two people in the universe. Merry's own eyes closed, and he leaned in until his lips pressed against Pippin's fireworks exploding in his mind, as he softly kneaded their lips together in the most mind blowing moment of his life. After a few moments Merry reluctantly broke the kiss, and smiled ecstatically at Pippin.

"I love you, Pippin", he murmured, pulling Pippin even closer into a rib-breaking hug, but breaking it quickly so that he could look yet again at that beautiful face that he couldn't get enough of.

"I love you too, Merry. I love you so much!" Pippin cried, tears of joy now spilling over as his life now seemed completely whole. Pippin threw his arms around Merry and pulled him into a tight embrace, never wanting to let him go. Gazing over Merry's shoulder, Pippin saw Diamond looking over at the two of them with a smile on her face. He smiled back at her, and mouthed the word "Thank you!" before breaking the hug and pulling Merry in for one more ground breaking kiss.

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Hope you enjoyed it =] Merry and Pippin forever!! Please review by the way, I always like to hear what people think xx


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